Neanderthal Interaction Between Modern Humans Submitted by: WildcatDH (cyberessays/Term-Paper-on-Neanderthal-Interaction-Between-Modern-Humans/85314/) Everywhere there are people who explore the idea of Neanderthals interacting with modern humans. While some people believe in it and others don’t, there is still some compelling evidence to help either side of the argument. It was approximately 466 thousand years ago that the Neanderthals and modern humans subdivided. Eventually Neanderthals were said to have died out, but perhaps there is still part of them living with us today. According to Jonathan Marks’ article: “My Ancestors, Myself” the differences between us are rather small. Today you can still find people with weak chins, sloping foreheads, brow ridges, long heads and narrowed faces, even projecting mid-faces. But you often don’t find all of those features together. (Marks) The first discovery of a Neanderthal was in 1856. At first glance Paleontologist Marcellin Boule concluded that the found Neanderthal had prehensile feet and could not fully extend his legs. Boule also said the Neanderthal would have had to thrust his head awkwardly forward because his spine prevented him from standing upright. That depiction of Neanderthal went unchanged for decades until in 1957 when researchers re-examined that same skeleton and concluded that Neanderthals actually stood upright and their feet were not prehensile. Also the stooped posture Boule described was because of arthritis. (Jaroff) Even with all that time dating between the first discovery and now, it wasn’t until somewhat recently in 2009 when Svante Pääbo finished constructing the Neanderthal genome which led to the connection between Neanderthals and modern humans. While modern humans from Africa appear in fossil records that date back 200,000 years ago, the Neanderthals didn’t show up until 230,000 years ago and disappeared 30,000 years ago. (Sankararaman, et al.) One scientist who helped supply the world with evidence was Svante Pääbo. Pääbo explores human genetic evolution by analyzing DNA extracted from ancient sources, including mummies, and the bone fragments of Neanderthals. Pääbo’s draft sequence analysis of the Neanderthal genome revealed that they share more alleles with non-African genomes than with the genomes of sub-Saharan Africans. One possible hypothesis that can explain the finding is when modern humans migrated out of Africa those humans grew genetically closer to Neanderthals. In “Our Inner Neanderthal” Kate Wong talks about patterns of nuclear genome variations found in present-day humans that identified 12 genome regions where non-Africans exhibited variants that were not seen in Africans. After comparing the regions with the same regions in the newly collected Neanderthal sequences, researchers found 10 matches of the 12 variants in non-Africans had come from Neanderthals. Those sequences were close to the sequences from present-day people in France, Papua New Guinea and China. Investigators had suggested that interbreeding might have occurred in the Middle East before moderns spread to the rest of the world and subdivided into different groups. (Wong) Based on fossil evidence it shows that Neanderthals resigned in Asia, Europe and the Middle East; and Homo sapiens resigned in Africa, Europe, Middle East and Australia. Neanderthals moved around a lot for food. Moving often would make it more likely for groups to run into each other at some point in time. Smaller groups of Neanderthals and modern humans could have lived together. Even though Neanderthals brain size was bigger, there are still other characteristics that are somewhat the same. Neanderthals and H. sapiens both had thin cranial bones, rounded skull vaults, small generalized teeth; lower molars had two cusps, thick tooth enamel, and modern body proportions. Both of their diets were generalized, but Neanderthals relied more on meat. The average height for both Neanderthals and H. sapiens ranged between 5 – 6 feet tall. (Becominghuman.org) In “Acting like Neanderthals” Mike Williams said that the last of the Neanderthals retreated to remote places of Europe. It was in one of those places where they discovered a young child buried in Leiria, Portugal. While the leg bones are of the usual Neanderthal stockiness, the arms were slender and more similar to a modern human. The chin confirmed that one parent of the child was Neanderthal, and the other parent was a modern human. “One thing we will never know is how the child lived its life: as a Neanderthal or as a modern human.” (Williams) There are always people who disagree with theories or hypotheses. Some people take the idea of mixing with Neanderthals offensive. Sometimes people only see Neanderthals for what they weren’t instead of what they were. It was proven that Neanderthals were not as smart as modern humans, even with the bigger brain. While modern humans had a wide range of tools, Neanderthals didn’t. Tool making skills between the two groups over time became very different. Both groups had blades, knives and spears, but H. sapiens tools kept changing. Fishhooks, nets, harpoons, needles and bows and arrows soon became the tools for modern humans. Some people say that because Neanderthals didn’t think of those “simple” tools then they were nothing like us. They were fat and extremely hairy, they were uncivilized and barely wore clothing and their faces had large shelf-like brow ridges and protruding noses. Some say that because of the fact their kind died out proves they were not as capable as us modern humans. A possible hypothesis dealing with Neanderthals going extinct was perhaps not that they weren’t capable but maybe it had to do with the environments they lived in. Neanderthals lived in colder environments than modern humans. Their reliance on meat caused them to travel to where the animals migrated to because of weather. Moving around a lot when very hungry could have led to starvation. Another possible hypothesis is perhaps Neanderthals died off because their bodies were aging faster than they actually were, not because they were too dumb. A study involving a Neanderthal child’s teeth found that when being compared to modern humans they looked to be close to teeth of a five year old. Because of powerful X-rays and biological rhythms inside teeth, they have revealed the child was actually only three years old. (Analysis of Neanderthal teeth) As Svante Pääbo says Neanderthals are not totally extinct. In some of us they live on, a little bit. Works Cited Analysis Of Neanderthal Teeth. Journal Of College Science Teaching 40.3 (2011): 10. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Nov. 2013. Jaroff, Leon, and Alice Park. The Neanderthal Mystery. (Cover Story). Time 143.11 (1994): 86. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Nov. 2013. Jonathan, Marks. “My Ancestors, Myself.” Aeon Magazine. Web. 21 November 2012. Sankararaman, Sriram, et al. The Date Of Interbreeding Between Neanderthals And Modern Humans. Plos Genetics 8.10 (2012): 1-9. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Nov. 2013. Williams, Mike. Acting Like Neanderthals. History Today 60.10 (2010): 3-4. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Nov. 2013. Wong, Kate. Our Inner Neanderthal. Scientific American 303.1 (2010): 18-20. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Nov. 2013. becominghuman.org/node/interactive-documentary
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 15:42:10 +0000
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